Zengő Motorsport has confirmed that young Hungarian Bence Boldizs will remain with the team for the 2021 FIA World Touring Car Cup season, where he will partner Mikel Azcona, Jordi Gené and a yet-to-be-confirmed team-mate.
Boldizs, 23, made his WTCR début last year, racing one of the team’s then-new CUPRA Leon Competición cars.
The Hungarian had only earlier in 2020 made his TCR début in the TCR Eastern Europe series, making him a very fresh newcomer to the world of TCR racing.
During 2020, Boldizs impressed in his rookie season, culminating in a best finish of sixth on home soil at the Hungaroring and one further top ten finish at the first Aragón meeting in October.
Prior to joining the WTCR grid, Boldizs had competed for four years in the Suzuki Swift Cup in Hungary, before going on to compete in the country’s national rallycross championship.
He then moved into touring car racing with a four-race stint in TCR Eastern Europe, having been talent-spotted by Team Principal Zoltan Zengő, where he claimed second place in a grid of 17 at the Slovakiaring.
“I am extremely happy that I can continue racing at the highest level in WTCR with Zengő Motorsport and with CUPRA,” said Boldizs, who is still eligible for the FIA WTCR Junior Driver title.
“Last year was a pretty intense year and I learned a lot. In May I got the opportunity to test the TCR car for the first time and at the end of the season I could say I could fight against the best touring car drivers and reach the Q2 three times.
“I also had the reverse-grid pole position at Hungaroring so I showed really good progression.
“I am still in the learning phase and I still have a lot to learn for sure, but that’s my aim for this season and to reach Q2 many times.
“Because if that can happen then I will get good starting positions for the races.
“Zoltán called me last year to have a test and everything was pretty simple. The guys in the team are very nice to me and I can only be grateful to them for giving me this opportunity.
“It was a dream come true last year and it’s so good to get another chance.
“I still have to learn and improve in many areas and I don’t have much experience like the others have.
“I hope my individual skills will come with experience, but I am very lucky Mikel is still in the team. He’s a really nice guy and he really helped me a lot during the last year.
“We have a really good relationship and now with Jordi joining us with all the experience he has and with the CUPRA it’s going to be a great asset for us.”
Team boss Zengő believes that Boldizs, who will compete under the Zengő Motorsport Drivers’ Academy banner, has a lot of potential, as he heads into only his second season in touring car racing.
“I am very happy that we are able to keep up the good work with Bence in WTCR,” added Zengő. “I believe that he is a very talented driver and that he can improve his already promising results from last year.”
The identity of the team’s fourth driver will be revealed next month.